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What we're faced with, here, is one of those albums that are amongst the most difficult to review. Weirdly enough, this isn't because it is full of complex lyrical allusions, changes of genre and mood, or rarefied instrumentation, but in fact, because it's just so gosh-darned pleasant. And let's face it: "pleasant" isn't exactly the easiest of things to wax lyrical about in a 600-word review.*
The Travelling Band then, on this, their debut, have produced an album of amiable, radio-friendly fare, which straddles a line between alt.country (Only Waiting, Fragments Of Green), and a kind of Mancunian-accented version of "Radio 2 rock". Chris Martin's lot are unavoidably evoked on one of the album's standout tracks Desolate Icicle - both in the singer's vocal and more subtly in the melody which deploys what I believe is the same interval (a sixth?) that is used to such good effect in Coldplay's Yellow.
Also effective is the love song Diamond Flighted Arrows with its description of how the loved one has eyes so deep that they "make an anchor seem weightless"; and the nostalgic and gently melancholic melody of Lanes of Names, where depth is added to the musical texture by the use of rich backing harmonies.
The album flows along quite nicely, with the first four tracks all passing by in a forgettable yet easy-on-the-ear manner. It takes a little dip in the middle, with Biding My Time and Fragments Of Green both slowing things down more than is necessary given the already fairly sedentary pace of proceedings. The track that deviates most from the band's own template is found towards the end, on High Five, which takes an altogether bluesier funkier turn, complete with fragments of honky-tonk style piano.
Appropriately, given the band's name, many songs make reference to life on the road or down-and-outs, from the protagonist who is "sat sombre in the park with a special brew" on Desolate Icicle, to "heading down the road" on High Five and the "fifteen psychic hoboes" who populate Lanes of Names.
In summary, this is the kind of fare that should earn itself a place inthe hearts and record collections of those who appreciate that music doesn't always necessarily need to be sturm-und-drang, melodrama or cutting edge glitchy weirdness. Sometimes, a gentle mood, a pleasant melody and some unchallenging sentiments can be what is required, and for such occasions one could do worse than spend an hour or so with The Travelling Band.
*Okay, so I only made it to just over 400, but hopefully you'll have got the picture.
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